View other reviews for this product:
Hatsubai « Hard tail version of the RGA »
Published on 08/18/11 at 14:06This is the second in the series of three RGAs that Ibanez decided to release to help bring new life into the RGA line up. The main difference is that this has a hard tail bridge and binding. The guitar has a mahogany arch top body, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 jumbo frets, binding, dot inlays, a hard tail bridge, two active humbuckers, one volume, one special shaping knob and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
This is the hard tail model, and it actually has another feature that the previous one I reviewed didn't have -- binding. The binding adds a nice touch of elegance to this, but it also kinda reminds me of some of the cheaper models that Ibanez released at one point in time. Ironic, I know. The frets are pretty good on this, and the nut is nicely cut. No real major issues to report. The finish could have been a touch better around the electronics cavity, but it's a minor complaint. I'm actually not a huge fan of the hard tail bridge since I'm a long time floyd user, but it's a solid bridge.
SOUNDS
The pickups in this are the new active electronics that Ibanez has employed in these guitars. They're pretty cool, but I tend to prefer EMGs to these. The bridge is nice and powerful. You can get some good bite going on, especially with an adjustment of the active EQ knob that's on this. However, it's easy to make it sound thin if you're not careful. The neck is a bit bright for my liking, but a quick turn of the active EQ knob tends to help calm that down. That's actually my biggest complaint. I hate tone knobs, and constantly having to fiddle with that is a real pain.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is very solid, and if you're looking for the next RGA121, this is probably the closest you'll get. It's got a few flaws for my own personal tastes, but I assume most people would rate this guitar fairly highly. It was resonant, had a perfect weight and sounded pretty decent overall.
UTILIZATION
This is the hard tail model, and it actually has another feature that the previous one I reviewed didn't have -- binding. The binding adds a nice touch of elegance to this, but it also kinda reminds me of some of the cheaper models that Ibanez released at one point in time. Ironic, I know. The frets are pretty good on this, and the nut is nicely cut. No real major issues to report. The finish could have been a touch better around the electronics cavity, but it's a minor complaint. I'm actually not a huge fan of the hard tail bridge since I'm a long time floyd user, but it's a solid bridge.
SOUNDS
The pickups in this are the new active electronics that Ibanez has employed in these guitars. They're pretty cool, but I tend to prefer EMGs to these. The bridge is nice and powerful. You can get some good bite going on, especially with an adjustment of the active EQ knob that's on this. However, it's easy to make it sound thin if you're not careful. The neck is a bit bright for my liking, but a quick turn of the active EQ knob tends to help calm that down. That's actually my biggest complaint. I hate tone knobs, and constantly having to fiddle with that is a real pain.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is very solid, and if you're looking for the next RGA121, this is probably the closest you'll get. It's got a few flaws for my own personal tastes, but I assume most people would rate this guitar fairly highly. It was resonant, had a perfect weight and sounded pretty decent overall.